This is Josef von Báky's "Münchhausen", a German film from 1943, so this one is almost 75 years old. And you can't deny that it is ahead of its time in terms of visual effects, costumes, art direction and set decoration and last but not least the use of color. But the result is as well that the film, in my opinion, almost entirely relies on the stylistic side here and it does not deliver a story that is on par. Münchhausen is a character that is still very well known today, at least here in Germany and here we find out about his adventures that lead him as far as to the moon. This 110-minute movie is possibly the defining career role for lead actor Hans Albers, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) stars in German film from his era. If you see the year 1943, you will realize that this film came out during World War II, when the Nazis were still in charge. Nonetheless, compared to the despicable propaganda films that came out at the same time, this movie is pretty much entirely apolitical, which I find positive and surprising. The German population certainly needed some comic relief in the face of the possibly darkest days in history. And they may have received it thanks to how stunning this film looks. Good for them. But for us, not so much. I cannot say that this film has aged particularly well, even if the moon sequences were sort of memorable. All in all, it turns out a forgettable case of style over substance that lacks a lot in terms of story-telling. In my opinion, the film dragged way too much to let me recommend it. Watch something else instead.
